What happened to our house?

Fire behind Aviara Oaks school

Evacuees from the Poinsettia Fire trickled into the parking lot of Westfield Plaza Camino Real shopping center in Carlsbad Wednesday afternoon – with many describing the surreal feeling of not knowing the fate of their homes.

Helen Angell, who lives in Carlsbad Aviara neighborhood, said she and her daughter managed to grab a few papers and the family cat before evacuating. As they were leaving, they saw bushes in their neighborhood’s landscaped median had already had been blackened.

Angell was concerned about her house. “I have friends who were not in the evacuation area,” she said. “They are calling and texting that houses nearby ours were lost. So we’re not sure.”

Martin de la Cruz, who lives in an apartment complex on Cassia Road near where the fire started, said he left for work thinking the fire wasn’t a big deal. “I drove to the top of the hill and could see the flames,” he said. “That’s when I drove back and said we are going to leave.”

He gathered his family in the car as the fire continued to advance. “There are new apartments on Cassia, and the flames were right there, right in back,” he said. “I took U turn to try get back on El Camino, and I saw the flames in the street.”

Cheryl Myrick, who lives in the La Costa Greens neighborhood, recently changed her phone number so she didn’t get the messages about the evacuations. “I just saw a bunch of neighbors outside tossing stuff in cars,” she said. “One of them told me we had to evacuate.”

She and her son grabbed the family’s dog, cat and a few documents, getting out in about 10 minutes. She was surprised the fire started where in did, so close to homes, but noted that the neighborhood is thick with native vegetation and open space.

“There is a lot of brush round there,” she said. “If you look around (the new Alga Norte) park, there is a habitat area back in there that is pretty dense.”

Juan Cisneros, who lives with his family near where the fire started, parked under a tree in the shopping center parking lot. His daughter, Melissa, was evacuated from Aviara Oaks Middle School, and a friend reunited her with the family. He said the family had about 20 minutes to evacuate the apartment, and he’s concerned about what might happen to his home

“It was very hot over there,” he said. “There was a lot of smoke. It was not good.